


Alloy

by jalendavi_lady



Series: Winry And Roy series from fma_fic_contest [8]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist
Genre: Canon - First Anime, Community: fma_fic_contest, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-14
Updated: 2010-01-14
Packaged: 2017-10-13 05:23:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/133434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jalendavi_lady/pseuds/jalendavi_lady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Roy's 38th birthday party.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Alloy

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the Elements Of The Periodic Table (open word count) prompt at [](http://www.livejournal.com/users/fma_fic_contest/profile)[**fma_fic_contest**](http://www.livejournal.com/users/fma_fic_contest/) .

>It had been years since that earlier party, her 21st, when _she_ had been a young woman being treated to a night on the town by friends she had never expected to be friends with.

This was weirder, in a way, and yet...

It had been years since she had moved to Central herself, finally understanding and accepting that the simple strength of her own automail designs wasn't suited to farmers, but to soldiers.

(Her grandmother had been oddly accepting of the move, simply saying "About time" when the news Winry had been hired as a civilian mechanic in the medical hospital had come through.)

Something butted against her ankle. Winry had been here enough times to not have to look down. "Lucky, my hands are full. Unless you want me to accidentally drop something on you," she warned.

The cat mrred indignantly and stalked off, seeking head scratches elsewhere.

She would never have thought being in this house would be comfortable, much less normal.

Winry put the wrapped package on the table next to the others.

...

"Now remember, General, all of them out at once and a wish will come true."

"Fuery, you know I don't beleve in that..."

"All, what, 38, now?" Havoc said slyly.

"You aren't all that young youself anymore," he shot back.

"And no using alchemy under the table to do it, sir."

"Hawkeye!" Roy says indignantly, as he nonchalantly sneaks his hand back above the table. He's not wearing gloves, but Winry knows that more than a few pieces of furniture in this house - including the kitchen cabinets - have transmutation circles inscribed on them, just in case.

And it's the oddest thing that she, of all people, has been here enough to know this. Not that she minds - most of the social activity Roy takes part in is in his neighborhood or home now, simply because he knows what the sheer amount of walking going a few blocks on foot, even without realizing it at the time, does to him. And since she's shifted into the same general social circle, even with the time she spends with mechanic friends...

...

An hour later, after the cake has been reduced to crumbs and the gifts unwrapped - complete with being told the monograph on the thermal properties of various metals in alloy was "too damn much" for her to have gotten him, even though they both know he's been wanting a copy for two years - she found herself watching Breda and Roy facing off across a new chess set Grumman sent as a gift.

It was interesting watching them, the differences in styles. Breda seemed almost lazy at points, and after the the first few checks were exchanged she realized he was actually most dangerous when he seemed the least interested.

People were like that, she'd realized over the years. Some were strong when you least expected they would be, and sometimes the people you thought were strongest weren't at all. Some people bent when others broke, and some bent when others managed to stand firm.

And when you got a group of friends and coworkers together like this, even with Havoc and Hawkeye and Scheska and Falman pairing off slightly at the edges of the group - and Winry knew she wasn't the only one who had been expecting a certain question to be asked in both relationships before much longer - the differences evened out. Weaknesses meshed with strengths.

Like an alloy. She knew a lot about alloys. She had to deal with them every day, or nearly so, after all.

...

She was standing inside the kitchen, staring out the window at the stars.

She heard him walk into the room. Roy put yet another icing streaked plate into the sink. "How did you find that book, anyway?"

"I know the author's cousin. He mentioned that there were enough enquiries after it that his cousin was running another printing and I put my name in for two copies."

His eyebrow raised. "Two?"

"Roy, I'm an automailer. The thermal properties of alloys are something _I_ have to worry about more often than you do."

He laughed slightly.

She smiled. "And I think the author signed it especially for you."

"Oh?" He went to grab it, flipped the cover open and read. "'To General Roy Mustang. Try not to cause too much damage with this before you retire.'" He closed it.

There was a silent moment.

"Everyone knows I'm retiring, don't they? Once I hit the full twenty years."

"It's only been your dream for a while now," Winry reminded him.

She wondered privately what the world would be like for him with less of everyone else in the alloy of his life.

 _Time alone will tell,_ she told herself as they both looked at the sky.


End file.
